How to enjoy the good & simple life while on a budget
We all want to live the good life, a simple life, that is filled with nourishing meals and the simple pleasures of life. A frugal life where we learn to produce for ourselves instead of consuming what was created by others. And with some simple steps, you too can get closer to a simple and more frugal life.
If you want to live a simpler life, it will often also result in living a more frugal life. You have to understand one thing. You will want to produce and create things yourself instead of relying on others to produce said items for you. Because we can always create something of better quality for less money, than if we would have paid someone else to create the same item. Although we might find similar items for less money, they will not be the same quality.
By living more simply and trying to be more frugal, we not only become more financially independent but also derive a kind of satisfaction from life that we would otherwise lack. By creating and producing more for ourselves, we can take back control over our lives. We learn that we are more capable than we had imagined and feel empowered because of it.
So what are the main 5 steps that you can take to live a life where you can be a producer instead of a consumer, so you can live more frugally and enjoy a simpler life?
Step 1, take a look at a more frugal budget
If you want to live more frugally, then the very first step should be to take a look at your current budget. Then try and look at which expenses are truly essential and which could be reduced.
Years ago, when I took a course on household budgeting. We were taught to write down each expense in our a notebook. The notebook had pages that had columns for different types of expenses. So if you were to buy a pack of gum, you would have to write down in your notebook, that you bought a snack for 50 cents. That way, you would be able to see how much you actually spend on each category. It might sound overly simple, but I found that by seeing how much I actually spend during a given month. I was able to cut out certain expenses altogether. Something that also helped me greatly to reduce my spending. Was that I knew that whatever I bought, no matter how small, would have to be written down in that notebook. An effort that surprisingly helped me to curb my consumerism considerably.
How to reduce your expenses
Shop at the local charity or second-hand shop. Charity shops are the perfect place if you want to reduce your spending without necessarily reducing your shopping. As well as helping out a charity and being part of a circular economy. They will also help you to live more frugally and stick to your budget. Usually, go to a bookshop to buy a book for €15, in a charity shop you can find books that are just as good for about a euro.
Go to the local park, the beach or a petting zoo for a frugal and budget-friendly day out. There are so many places you could go that are completely free to go to. Take a picnic with you and make a nice day out of it.
Make use of your local library. Borrow books you would like to read or films that you would like to watch for movie night. Some libraries even offer free courses or host book clubs.
Take a look at your expenses and look for any subscriptions or memberships that you could get rid of. Perhaps you haven’t used them in a long time, or perhaps the library can now provide the books or DVDs to replace those expenses.
Step 2, How to mend & make do for a more frugal life
When you rip your jeans, you can patch them up. You can mend your clothes and other items and make do with what you have. You don’t have to worry about having the latest gadget, and you don’t have to keep up with anyone. All you need to do is take care of what you have and live your life. Focus on the things that really matter. Like having a big family dinner or listening to the birds sing early in the morning.
A great way to embrace the mend and make do mindset is to mend your own clothes. Learn some basic hand sewing and sew on that button that popped off or patch up that hole in your shirt. Keep a basket in your home with all of your mending. That way, when you have a bit of time to spare, you can mend that shirt or sew that button back on. I particularly like to do some mending in front of the fireplace during winter, while during summer I enjoy sitting in the garden listening to the birds while I mend our clothes.
If you want to learn more about mending clothes, you can read all about visible vs invisible mending and why it matters here. Because when you mend your own clothes you have the power to change the look of your clothes. Through visible mending, you can add a personal touch to clothes. Whereas with invisible mending, you can keep your clothes looking like they always have.
So get that mending basket going and find half an hour each week to work on your mending. To give your clothes a second life.
Step 3, Create nourishing from scratch meals
By creating your own meals from scratch, you can eat more nourishing meals while sticking to a small budget. You will find that once you’ve learned some kitchen basics, you will be able to create delicious from-scratch meals.
By cooking meals from scratch, you will learn how to alter recipes to adapt them to whatever vegetables are in season. Thereby enabling you to cook more seasonally, which also allows, you to cook the same meal regularly without it ever becoming boring. Since you will adjust the recipe to add whatever vegetables are in season. Like in spring, you could make a risotto with asparagus, in summer with tomatoes, in autumn with pumpkin and in winter with some cabbages.
You will always be able to make a meal for less than the same quality meal would be preprepared. This is because, unlike with pre-prepared meals, you don’t have to pay for the preparation of the meal. And as an added bonus, you won’t have any unnecessary additives in your meals. Saving you unnecessary expenses and your health as well as providing you with more skills, allowing you to be more self-reliant.
Although there are so many more reasons to learn to cook from scratch. If you want to learn about some more reasons why cooking from scratch will change your life for the better. Then take a look at my post on 10 reasons why you might want to start cooking from scratch.
Step 4, Start a garden and grow your own
I highly recommend anyone to start a garden. No matter how small, even if your garden is two flowerpots on your windowsill, it will still reward you. Grow some fresh herbs if you don’t have much space in your apartment. If you have access to a garden, try and get some containers or convert some of your lawn. Grow some herbs and leafy green vegetables, perhaps even a fruit bush or two if you have the space. If you can dedicate even more space to your garden, the yields and rewards be all the greater for it. But that doesn’t mean that those of us that don’t have access to acres of land cannot grow quite a well yielding garden.
By growing a garden, you can augment your meals with some of the vegetables and herbs from your garden. Which is good for those that want to live more frugally. Since it will reduce your weekly shopping bills and enhance the flavour and quality of your meals as well.
Planning your garden
When you are planning your garden, no matter how big or small. You need to always keep in mind these three rules. What can I grow in my area, what do I enjoy eating and what gives me the most harvest. Regarding the first rule of what can I grow in my area, you might also need to consider if you can plant in the ground or in containers. Do you own the land, or are you planning your garden while you are still renting and cannot break ground?
What you will want to grow will also depend hugely on what you actually enjoy eating. I greatly enjoy the herb thyme and the leafy green arugula or rocket, so those were some of my first plants. They are also well suited to growing in containers and have a continual harvest which makes them perfect for small starter gardens. Because being able to have a continual harvest will mean that you will automatically have more harvest. Since all your small daily harvests, will add up over time to quite a large harvest. Add to that the fact that, more often than not, those leafy greens and fresh herbs are also on the pricier side you will save even more by growing your garden. Enabling you to, not only live a more frugal life, but also a simpler one.
Step 5, A frugal life is filled with frugal fun
Just because you want to live a more frugal life doesn’t mean you have to stay home or not do anything fun anymore. For there are ever so many ways in which you can enjoy yourself without breaking the bank. Our family has always preferred the simpler pleasures in life over the consumer type activities. We feel it makes us appreciate our time together more as well as opening our eyes to the world around us. We love going on nature walks or going hiking in the mountains. Listening to the birds sing and spotting red squirrels or finding fox holes. By spending time in nature, we feel reenergized and are able to connect with each other as a family. Something that we were unable to do to the same extent when we would go to the cinema.
Another good way to live more simply while also pursuing a more frugal life, is by learning a craft. It will give you countless hours of enjoyment as well as empower you. Because once you learn a craft you will be able to become more of a producer instead of only a consumer. You will have learned a skill that you will be able to carry with you for the rest of your life. Especially the more old fashioned and traditional skills and crafts are very valuable to learn since they often will enable you to live more simply as well as very frugally. Just think of quilting, where you would use countless small scraps of fabric and turn them into something new that was beautiful as well as useful.
Lastly, you can always just spend time with your family around a good cuppa tea and chat about anything and everything. Or all snuggle up on the sofa and read a good book.
Because enjoying life is about the small and simple pleasures that often come for free but are always priceless.
Do you have any other tips for a simpler and more frugal life?
Do you have any other tips for a simpler life that can be lived more frugally? If so, leave them down below in the comments, for I would love to know about them. If you have any questions, you can also ask them down below in the comments or you can send me a DM on Instagram.
Learn about more ways to live more simply and frugally.
- 10 reasons why you might want to start cooking from scratch
- Why mending clothes matters & the benefits of invisible vs visible mending
- 15 Old-fashioned & frugal ways to stay warm in winter
- Why I absolutely love drying laundry outside and you might too
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